Suction cleaner nozzle with rocking lever type adjustable brush



y 20, 1952 w. H. MOQUILKIN 2,597,808

SUCTION CLEANER NOZZLE WITH ROCKING LEVER TYPE ADJUSTABLE BRUSH. Filed April 25, 1947 Fig. 1

I N VEN TOR. Willard liM Qailkin BY Patented May 20, 19 52 SUCTION CLEANER NOZZLE WITH ROCKING LEVER TYPE ADJUSTABLE BRUSH Willard H. McQuilkin, Canton; hio,yassignor to The; Hoover Gompany,, North Canton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application April 25, 1947, Serial No; 743,781

2 Claims. (Cl. -37 3) The present: invention relates" to: cleaning tools of: the typev which. are used with. suction cleaning apparatuses: and: more particularly to a surface cleaning tool. embodying a suction. nozzle, asurface cleaning brush and: a: construction adjustably mounting the brush on thecleaning. tool.

It is-aprincipal object'of thepresent invention to provide a surface cleaning tool for suction cleaning apparatuses embodying a brush. construction which is advanced or retracted at the will: of the operator by the: application of a slight foot applied pressure: to. a. projecting adjusting lever.

It isa, further object of the present invention to provide a surface cleaning tool for suction 3 cleaning apparatusesembodying a surface cleaning brush and: adjusting. mechanism all ofv which are retained in adjusted: position and. are; retained in the: nozzle structure by the brush mounting structure.

It isafurther object of. the present invention toprovide a surface cleaning; tool. of the above described'character in which the adjusting mechanism for the brush,. the brush and the common mounting means are all assembled from the bottom of thenozzlecasting.

Other objects-and advantages of the: invention Will be apparent from: the following: specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view',.part1yin. section, of a cleaning tool having: an adjustable brush shown inits lowered position for picking up: litter;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, partly in section, taken along line 22 of Figure. 4. looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating. the brushin lowered position;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view; partly in section, corresponding to Figure. 2 but with. the brush: in-raised position; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view'takenalong line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed comprises a cleaning tool a body consisting of an upper portion: [.0 and a lower portion II. The cleaning tool body may be die cast of a suitable metal such as aluminum or it maybe molded from a suitable metal or plastic as; desired. The upper portion Hl of the: cleaning tool includes a top wall l2, a. front wall I 3: and a pair of spaced walls. l4 and. I5 extending parallel to and in spaced relation to the wall l3 which cooperate with the sloping inner face 3| of the top wall l2- and end wall lBto define a suction cleaning nozzle air passageway 30; The front wall l3 and wall. I4 cooperate with end! walls ll and I3 and top wall 12 to define an open bottomed brush housing 19 in which a retractable brush 20 is ad- I nozzle. outlet opening: 21 communicating with the air passageway 20: and a rearwardly projecting tubular socket 22. A hollow elbow 23 is rotatably mounted in the socket 22. The elbow 23 is adapted to be connected in a known manner to a suitable source of suction by means'o-f a flexible hose and a manipulating wand. The elbow 23 is rotatably mounted in the socket 22 by a resilient annular spring wire 24 mounted in complementally formed. grooves 25 in the socket 22' and the elbow 23.

The lower portion ll of the. body has a front lip 26 and a rear lip 21: merging at their-opposite ends into end lips 2828. The surfaces of. the end lips 28-28 and the end. portions 29: of the front and rear nozzle lips form supporting. surfacesor shoes which lie in a planelower than. the intermediate portions of the front and rear. lips. The rear 1ip2'l slopes upwardly and rearwardly while the end lip structures 2829 are convex" to allow the body H) to be inclined during cleaning operations.

A furniture guard 32 of rubber or other suitable material extends along the front wall, the ends of the top wall, and the rear wall of the cleaning tool body. The furniture guard is provided with a plurality of spaced lugs, Figure 1, extending into marginal slots formed in the lower edges of the wall of the body portion ID. The front wall ['3 and a flange 33 of the lower nozzle body I I abut complementally formed lugs, not shown, on the furniture guard 32' to secure the same in position.

The end walls l1 and 18 of the brush housing I9 are provided with shoulders 3 -3 against which complementally formed shoulders 36 on the brush back engage inthe raised or retracted position on the brush. The brush 20 is formed of spaced tufts of bristles 31 mounted in the brush back and secured thereto in a conventional manner. The end shoulders 33 of the brush back 35 are provided with suitable openings which slidably receive securing" studs 38 threaded into the shoulders 34' on the nozzle body. Compression springs 39 surround the studs 38 between the stud heads and the shoulders 36 to urge the brush into the retracted position illustrated in Figure 3.

The novel adjusting mechanism for the brush 2% comprisesan operating lever 40 best shown in Figures 2 to 4. The lever 40' includes a pair" of angularly related operating arms 38 and 49 extending through slots 46 and M, respectviely, in the top walllof the brush housing i9. A cam surface llhaving. a. V-shaped central depression is positionedbetween the actuating arms 48 and 4 9.

.The cam. surface ll engages a V-shaped. cam :22

depending from. the top wall of the housing IS. The lever 49 is provided with a depending central portion having an open-ended slot 44 seated on a pintle 43 carried by upstanding lugs 45 on the brush back 35. The slots 46 and 41 and the lugs 45 engage opposite sides of the lever 40 to prevent displacement thereof in the direction of the axis of the pintle 43. Angular displacement of the lever 40 is limited by engagement between the ends of the slots 46 and 41 and the arms 48 and. 49, respectviely. The biasing springs 39 constantly urge the brush 20 and the lever 40 upwardly to maintain firm engagement between the slot 44 and the pintle 43 and between the cam surfaces 4| and 42.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the springs 39 serve to retain the operating lever 40 in any of its adjusted positions and in operative relation to the brush structure and to the cam formed integrally with the nozzle body. The springs 39 and the studs 38 form the sole means for securing these parts to the nozzle body, in operative relation to each other and to retain the same in any adjusted position wherefor the springs perform a multiplicity of functions. The present construction provides a means by which the entire brush assembly and its adjusting mechanism ma be applied to the nozzle from the bottom and which requires no machining of the nozzle body structure for the purpose of securing or mounting the adjusting mechanism per se. It is only necessary to provide suitable tapped holes for receiving the two studs 38 which form the only means for retaining the parts in assembled relation with the nozzle body.

In the operation of the device, the operator applies a slight pressure, preferably by foot, to whichever of the levers 48 and 49 is in its upper central position. If the parts are in the position illustrated in Figure 3, a foot pressure applied to the arm 49 will rock the lever in a clockwise direction disengaging the V-shaped notch in the cam surface 4| from the cam 42 and setting the parts in the position illustrated in Figure 2 which serves to project the brush structure against the force of the compression springs 39. If the brush is in its extended position, as shown in Figure 2, a slight pressure applied to the arm 48 will rock the lever 40 counter-clockwise and restore the parts to the position illustrated in Figure 3. Hence the brush is raised and lowered by a simple application of a downwardly applied foot pressure to the actuating lever therefor.

The elbow 23 is connected through a suitable hose to a source of suction causing a lowered pressure within the passage 39 which causes air torush into that passage under the nozzle structure and entrain dirt and litter therewith. If

the brush is in the retracted position illustrated in Figure 3, the tool operates as a straight suction cleaning tool in a well-known manner. If the operator depresses the lever 49 and lowers the brush to the position illustrated in Figure 2, the surface undergoing cleaning is subjected to a brushing action as the nozzle is moved back and forth thereacross which aids in dislodging and picking up embedded dirt and litter.

The present construction provides a suction cleaning tool nozzle embodying a brush which is adjustable by a mechanism consisting essentially of a single lever which is not rigidly and permanently attached either to the nozzle body or to the brush structure and is always operated by downwardly applied foot pressure. No machining of the nozzle is required to mount or seat the adjusting lever mechanism. The foregoing great- 1y reduces the manufacturing and assembling costs of the apparatus and results in a very simple, effective and reliable construction.

What is claimed is:

1. A surface cleaning tool comprising a body member having walls defining an air passageway terminating in surface engaging lips forming a suction nozzle and a brush housing contiguous to said air passageway and opening downwardly, a brush, means mounting said brush in said housing for slidable movement between a projected surface engaging position and a retracted inoperative position, a control member, means forming a separable rocking connection between said control member and the top of said brush, coacting cam surfaces on said control member and said housing shaped to cause said brush to project and retract as said control member is rocked on said connection, actuating means on said control member extending through an opening in a Wall of said housing and being insertable and withdrawable through said opening from said brush housing when the apparatus is assembled or disassembled, means biasing said brush upwardly in said housing to maintain said connection in assembled relation and said cam surfaces in engagement and said actuating means extended through said opening in the wall of said housing.

2. A surface cleaning tool comprising a body member having walls defining an air passageway terminating in surface engaging lips forming a suction nozzle and a brush housing contiguous to said air passagaway and opening downwardly, a brush, means mounting said brush in said housing for slidable movement between a projected surface engaging position and a retracted inoperative position, a control member, a separable pin-and-slot rocking connection between said control member and the top of said brush, a projection extending into said housing from the top Wall thereof, a cam surface on the upper edge of said control member engaging said projection, a pair of actuating arms on said control member on opposite sides of said cam surface extending through slots formed in the top Wall of said housing on opposite. sides of said projection, said arms being shaped to pass freely through said slots from the interior of said housing in assembling said control member with respect to said housing, and means biasing said brush upwardly in said housing to maintain said control member in assembled operative relation with said brush and said housing.

WILLARD H. MCQUILKIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,348,585 Rosenfield Aug. 3, 1920 1,413,545 Throop Apr. 18, 1922 2,205,877 Dunbar June 25, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,141 Great Britain 1910 217,208 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1942 

